NHL Network presents: Game 5 2011 WCQF: Predators vs. Ducks

Unlikely Preds contributors help seal Game 5 victory

NHL.com

All summer long, NHL Network will be replaying the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs -- from every jaw-dropping goal to every highlight-reel save to every crushing defeat.

Each game of the postseason -- spanning the more than two-month period from the opening round to Boston's Game 7 clincher of the Stanley Cup Final -- will be shown on the Network throughout the offseason.

Fans can tune in at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET nightly for a different game -- and different chance to re-live history. A complete program schedule can be found on NHLNetwork.com.

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

With both the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators each losing a game at home in their series, the pressure was definitely on the Ducks to escape Honda Center with a win and maintain their home-ice advantage. And if past statistics were any indicator, then the fact that the Predators were 0-5 in Game 5s and had never managed to win three games in any one playoff series in franchise history gave the Ducks even more reason to lock down another victory. But everyone knows that games are not won based on the facts from the game notes, especially when you are talking about Stanley Cup Playoff hockey.

Much like the previous games in the series, Game 5 was another back-and-forth affair with both clubs trading goals throughout the first three periods, with Shea Weber's tally late in the third forcing overtime. But it was a bunch of unlikely Predator contributors that would eventually be the difference makers in this game. Defenseman Kevin Klein got the scoring going for Nashville with his first and only playoff goal of his career. Then, after the teams traded goals and ended regulation tied at three, it would be center Jerred Smithson who would emerge as probably the biggest hero in franchise history as his wrister with just under two minutes into overtime beat Anaheim goalie Ray Emery and gave the Predators a 4-3 win and a 3-2 advantage in the series. Smithson finished the 2011 postseason with 31 career games in the playoffs -- the goal was just his third point.